The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-02-10

FOtS vi TIC pSOPiS. IN ioo 30 IL IN
fore the Committee and was pushing it
on the quiet but being detected in
his patriotic scheme before it was too
late, delegation of farmers represent
ing the farming interests of the county,
waited on that Committee to present
petitions and to protest against any
alteration of that law, principally on
the ground that it would be impossi-
Bile to replace the fences owing to the
great scarcity of timber; but represen-
tative Watson told the Committee in
presence of the delegation to the effect
that the farmers were secondary par
ty in this case and "dat de Constu-
shion of de United States says dat dis
is a guvment of de people and dat de
people mus rule Some of the del
egates have read the instrument re-
ferred to but fail to remember that it
contained any clause that would en-
force impractical legislation. The
delegation told the Committee that if
the present law was repealed it could
not possibly be carried into effect, and
that it would to all intents and pur-
poses become a dead letter. Says Mr..
Watson in reply, "ae people mus de-
eide all bout 1at, timber or no timber,
and says Missa Cheerman," he contin
ued, at the same time sticking his hands
into his breaches pockets, "dat dis bill
er mine mus be voted on by de peo-
pie mex August pervidin dat dey am
not all dead and dying by udder end
of July, and if de balance of dem wots
left says dat de fences got to go back
dey mus be in dar places by de fust
day Janiari next yea shoa."
''Let me tell you, Missa Cheerman,"
says ode peoples" representative, his
hands still in his breeches, alternately
standing erect and bending gracefully
forward, "dat de poo people could kill
er good fat hog befo' dis here law cum
bout but now dey can't" The an
swer of the delegation in substance
was this, that ode hogs have not got
the same privilege as they formerly had
of feeding and fattening on other
peoples corn. The delegates consider
the time given for replacing the fences
little too limited, only from August
to January. 1t Mr.. Watson will conde-
scend to scratch on the margin of his
! bill about half an extra clause to the
effect that he has not much objection
if ode people" have none, to wait long
enough for sufficient number of old
field pine to spring up large enough so
that the butt end will make four rails
and the lap end not quite as many;
if ''de peoples man has no objection
to wait that indefinite length of time,
the farmers of Vance county will not
object to the voting taking place next
August providing it will be a fair and
square thing and no trickery; but if
"de people" cannot keep their patience
that long, the candid and determined
answer of the farmers is that it is our
OWL business and we consider ourselves
quite capable of looking after our own
welfare without consulting the people
or anybody else; the timber even if we
had it is our own, and we assume to
ourselves the right of doing what we
please with it; if we choose to make
bonlires with it, it is nobody's bust
ness, or if we would prefer utilizing it
for curing tobacco and other useful
purposes we shall do SO, but to cut it
down at other peoples bidding and to
place it in sort of zig gag position
called fence and to see it rotting
down again in short time, we shall
certainly do no such thing, notwith-
standing all that ode people, or any
body else may think, speak or do.
Our advice to ode peoples" represent
ative is, that he go back to the people
and tell them that in his opinion it
would be best to leave we'll enough alone
as there has been party of fellows from
the county before the Committee, and
the temper they manifested convinced
him that they were not going to be
fooled with and some of them went
SO far as to say that this sort of business
would not do any how, as it was moth
ing "worse" nor ''better" than bows
play to make laws one day, and to
mess them up the next, and if he
should succeed in getting the breachy
stock On the roads and in the woods
again, they made it quite clear that a
gun was heap handler than a maui
and that powder and ball was less ex-
pensive than rail fences ten feet high,
but if you are "bound in your AIM to
tote the thing to conclusions you must
get some other "brudder" member to
put it through, as l have disineHned
the business. The delegation would
further advise him to let other peoples
laws alone and devote his talented
craftsmanship to the framing of new
bills, and to using his eloquent orator
ical powers in the advocacy of such
measures, and enforcing them into such
laws, as may rebound to his immortal
renown, and to the renovation and re-
generation of "de people"
Very Respectfully,
NANrc rnr->-,-,,